If you are a young person, you undoubtedly have plans for your future that could include everything from attending graduate school to entering the kind of career you have always dreamed about.

However, if law enforcement charges you with a drug offense such as possession of drug paraphernalia, a conviction would have a serious effect on those future plans. Deferred prosecution could lead the way to a dismissed charge.

The consequences of a conviction

Drug charges are among the most common offenses for young people. Often peer pressure results in someone making an uncharacteristic mistake in judgment. If you find yourself in this position, a conviction could make your acceptance to graduate school difficult if not impossible and put the career you want out of reach. You could also experience difficulty in renting a home or obtaining a loan.

The requirements for deferred prosecution

Deferred prosecution would allow the court to place you on probation as long as you meet certain requirements:

• You have had no conviction for a felony or a misdemeanor that involved moral turpitude
• You state under oath that you have not been on probation previously
• You are unlikely to commit another offense beyond a Class 3 misdemeanor
• With court approval, you and the prosecutor will sign an agreement deferring prosecution

The outlook for the charge

In the state of North Carolina, prosecutors sometimes become overly aggressive in demanding maximum penalties that include heavy fines and time behind bars, even for first offenders. Obviously, you want to avoid this, and you want the best outcome possible for your case.

Given the charge of drug paraphernalia possession, the main purpose of the agreement deferring prosecution is to allow you to enter and successfully complete the Drug Treatment Court program. This is a solution that will pave the way to the dismissal of the charge and allow you to continue pursuing your plans for the future.